Rachel Weiss
Stem Cell Research Embryonic stem cells are cells that come from embryos that're leftover from in vitro fertilization. Because of this, there is a "moral implication of destroying embryos" which can make it difficult to find funding for. Despite their controversy, they are useful for medical and research purposes and can produce cells for almost every tissue in the human body. The ethical concerns come in when people think of stem cell collection from embryos as "killing the embryo"-even if it is only five days old. We have to make the choice as to whether or not the benefit of saving other lives is greater than respecting the value of human life. Since scientists are destroying potential human life when they collect stem cells, some people consider it to be similar to abortion. However, since there’s no timeline that determines when personhood begins, the process is arbitrary. On the contrary, though the embryo does not have emotions and needs, it will eventually become a person…that is, if it is transferred to the uterus of a woman. Some people approve of stem cell research-as long as the embryo doesn’t start getting tested beyond 2 weeks after fertilization. This is because, in an embryo, no central nervous system development occurs before the 14 day deadline. A common argument is that, since we take organs from dead bodies, why wouldn’t we be able to use embryotic stem cells that’re potentially “braindead”? In general, however, the value of a human life is lowered or raised as the age of a fertilized egg increases. For example, if you were to know someone who miscarried a month into their pregnancy versus gave birth to a stillborn, wouldn’t they grieve more for the stillborn? Also, more than half of fertilized eggs are lost from natural causes anyway. On the other hand, opponents to this view think that scientists shouldn’t kill what they aren’t sure of. As an example, if you’re a hunter in the woods and you see something that could be a deer or human, odds are, you aren’t going to shoot that target and take the risk. As with anything, religion plays a huge role in the acceptance, or rejection, of the concept of stem cell research. Though Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant churches are against it because they believe an embryo is a human as soon as it is conceived, other religions such as Judaism and Islam support it-so long as the research conducted occurs within the first 40 days. On a positive note, in 2006, there was a scientific breakthrough that allowed scientists to stimulate regular cells to act as embryotic stem cells. Therefore, people have lightened their opinions on the issue and are beginning to accept the benefits of stem cell research over the ethical complications. With that being said, it is still illegal in the United States for embryotic cells to be created and destroyed solely for research purposes. Despite all of this, different presidents have allowed scientists to use a certain amount of embryos per year for stem cell research.